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CLAIRE BLOOM AND JAMIE BERNSTEIN TO OPEN
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF MUSIC WITH GALA CONCERTLast Performing Arts Venue Designed by Architect Philip Johnson
Lancaster, Pa. –"The senses are the portals of our mind." With that vision of the synergy of the senses cultivated by music, renowned piano duo Frances Veri and Michael Jamanis will fling open the doors to the new $25-million Pennsylvania Academy of Music on June 11. Located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania – midway between New York City and Washington, D.C. – the Academy is the last performing arts venue designed by famed architect Philip Johnson. With acoustics by Dr. Cyril Harris, it is designed to be a magnet for connoisseurs of fine music from around the world.
In a final bow to Philip Johnson’s architectural gift to the arts, the new Academy facility will be publicly unveiled on June 11 with a gala concert hosted by British classical actress Claire Bloom. Leonard Bernstein’s daughter, Jamie, will introduce her father’s "Make My Garden Grow" from "Candide" as the Academy children’s choir sings its way into the recital hall. The program includes performances by internationally renowned violinist Arnold Steinhardt and the original recording artists of George Gershwin’s two-piano scores, Veri and Jamanis, who also are the Academy founders. In addition, the internationally acclaimed Newstead Trio will perform the world premiere of a new work by Chinese composer, Chen Yi, just weeks before she debuts another composition at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Rounding out the program will be a tribute to Pennsylvania composer Samuel Barber by the Academy’s Philharmonia Orchestra and "Bachianas" for eight cellos and a voice by students, faculty, and alumni of the Academy.
Founded in 1989 and home of the international summer music festival, Vivace!, the Academy’s new 63,000 square foot facility will accept up to 600 students, ages pre-school to adult, for the fall semester. One of only 12 autonomous pre-collegiate music schools in the U.S. accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, it provides a comprehensive musical education and technical performing tools through applied lessons, training in theory and musical literature, and opportunities for solo and ensemble performance. Elective and certificate courses address the needs of early development and elementary children, intermediate, advanced, and adult students. The faculty consists of accomplished musicians, including internationally acclaimed opera singers, recording artists, and composers, who share their talents and insights in studies customized for each student.
The new facility’s world-class designs and elements pay final homage to the same genius that designed the Seagram Building and AT&T Headquarters in New York, PPG in Pittsburgh, and the Crystal Cathedral in California. This legendary architectural talent is enhanced by the same acoustics designer responsible for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Bombay, India. The beneficiary of their ultimate teamwork is the Academy featuring a 364-seat recital hall with judge’s row, teaching studios, classrooms for theory and composition, a chamber music suite, state-of-the-art recording studios with broadcast capabilities, a music library, public rooms for casual concerts and community functions, and a rooftop atrium.
While the granite and glass are a visually stunning architectural complement to the historic character of America’s oldest inland city, it is the spirit of the Academy that makes it a multi-generational enclave for artists, educators, and students. Modeled after the conservatory approach in mid-sized European cities, the Academy draws on its heritage with Juilliard and the Metropolitan Opera to create a cultural pulse that reverberates throughout the northeast corridor and, indeed, around the world.
When it shows the world its four floors of elegant teal carpet, spaghetti lights, and cherry wood harvested from Pennsylvania forests on June 11, the Pennsylvania Academy of Music ultimately intends to unleash the creative energy of some of the world’s finest musicians and prodigies. As Veri and Jamanis put it, "The Academy will be a big voice from a small center."
The Pennsylvania Academy of Music is a non-profit pre-collegiate institution dedicated to the musical advancement of its students. Founded in 1989, the Academy attracts students from an immediate nine-county area as well as from around the world, who study disciplines ranging from instrumental, chamber music, orchestra, opera and vocal performance to music composition and theory, improvisation, accompanying ,jazz and recording. The Academy has a widely accomplished international faculty and is one of only 12 autonomous pre-collegiate music schools in the country accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
